Chicago Bears shift focus on interviewing for next head coach during off-season
CHICAGO (CBS) — The Bears players cleaned out their lockers Monday, knowing changes are ahead. At the top of the list is a new head coach.
Interim coach Thomas Brown will get an interview, and while it seems unlikely he'll get the job, he made his case for why he believes he deserves a shot.
"Them having a chance to see me in the building, something to me should be more impressive with everything else," Brown said. "The situation, I kind of had a chance to take over, having three different jobs in the same season, which I'm not sure has happened before in the history of football. The approach I've had every single day in the building. The mentality I brought to the group. Understand the expectations as far as everybody assumes stuff gets changed because you come in and snap your fingers. That's not how change happens. Change happens over time."
Brown also said he was honest with Caleb Williams from the beginning, and that seems to be at least partly what Williams wants in a new coach.
"I would say in any way, any shape, form. I don't have an issue with being challenged. I don't have an issue with speaking truth," Williams said.
"People baby a quarterback too much," Brown said. "It is by far the most difficult position to play, we all know that, but to whom much is given, much is required. One of the things we connected on from the beginning was I was honest from the get-go."
Accountability for the entire team seemed to be an issue from the start, something DeMarcus Walker pointed out as someone who played under head coaching candidate Mike Vrabel.
"I'll tell you what. A lot of bull**** going to get cut out," he said. "Discipline will be laid down from the first day. A lot of those small things we've gotten away with won't happen no more."
Walker said any coach that comes in is getting a talented team, but the details and discipline need to be there from the beginning for this team not to be going home before the playoffs again for a fifth-straight season next year.
Williams, who came into the season with lofty goals and high expectations, showed flashes—throwing for over 3500 yards and 20 touchdowns, but there were plenty of hard lessons learned along the way.
There will also likely be big changes on the offensive line. Starting left guard Teven Jenkins, an unrestricted free agent, said it's 50/50 on if he even wants to return.
"I wish it went a lot better, you know? A lot of things I could've done better myself, a lot of things I wanted to do during the season, like, leave no doubt for other contracts," Jenkins said. "I didn't do enough on my part where now there's still questions, so I failed on that part."
Jenkins has battled injuries in his four years with the Bears, calling it frustrating.
General Manager Ryan Poles, who is scheduled to meet with the sports news media Tuesday, will hopefully offer a little more insight into what changes the Bears need to make as a whole after one of the most frustrating seasons in franchise history.
